African Arts Gallery

Dogon Mask (N° 13418)

African art among the Dogon
In funeral rites, members of the society Awa , dance with masks on the roof of the house of the dead, to lead his soul (nyama) to his eternal rest and to defend the living. The Kanaga mask is also used to protect hunters from revenge from the prey he has killed. This copy is designed after a recurring structure: a vertical central plank with "double arms" securely secured by leather straps, and whose ends are directed upwards and downwards. Geometric patterns with dark pigments are painted on its surface, sharpened with the underlying whitish coat. The conical mouth is reminiscent of a bird's beak. Dry, grainy and matte surface. In the pre-opening to the funeral or during the bereavement, many almost identical copies appear on the dance area, after circulating in the alleys of the village. Depending on the degree of initiation, this mask will not have the same meaning when it is released during the mourning ceremony or during more festive exhibitions. He will be the Komolo bird, or, for the initiate, the Creator indicating the sky and the earth with gesture. The wearers of this mask adopt an impressive choreographic gesture symbolizing the union of visible and invisible worlds.